Jo Wood races to a new challenge

Jo Wood, the former wife of the Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, is being
trained by David Coulthard to take part in the Silverstone Classic Celebrity
Challenge.

Jo Wood is put through her paces by David Coulthard

Tim Walker. Edited by Richard Eden

6:28AM BST 20 May 2011

Putting into practice her belief that women should get on with their lives after their relationships end, Jo Wood has passed her test to enable her to take part in the Silverstone Classic Celebrity Challenge in July.

David Coulthard, who put Wood through her paces in a Morgan told her, in the manner of all great driving instructors, to look up and not worry too much about the controls.

“I am a natural petrolhead,” she tells Mandrake. “My father used to race Lambrettas when I was a kid and took part in the Isle of Man TT.”

Ronnie Wood’s former wife is relaunching her cosmetics brand without the Rolling Stones guitarist, but they remain friends. “You can’t throw away a relationship that has lasted 30 years,” she says.

Dr Liam Fox’s opposition to the planned sharp increase in the foreign aid budget has won the support of General Sir Mike Jackson.

“India needs to be at the top of the list to be looked at,” the former Army chief tells Mandrake at a party at the Robilant + Voena art gallery. “It has its own space programme and nuclear weapons. There are still lots of people in poverty, but isn’t it up to their own government to do something?”

Weighty admission

Miriam Margolyes is honest about her image. “I’ve been overweight since I was a child and it gets in the way of life,” admits the Harry Potter star. “I’ve tried to lose weight, but it’s been a constant battle. Sadly, I’m fat because I’m greedy and I eat too much.”

Ella Krasner's glittering hop

Ella Krasner co-hosted a dinner in Cannes with Sean Penn for his Haiti foundation, where guests including Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro raised nearly £1 million in two hours.

The socialite looked stunning in a mini-dress, but it was the huge sticking plaster and dressing on her leg that caught the eye. “I was going to the gym on the back of my personal trainer’s motorbike and my leg touched the exhaust,” she tells Mandrake. “I ended up with a second-degree burn. I have spent the night with one leg behind the other to hide it.”